Food Stuff; At the 1904 World's Fair, Cotton Candy and Cottolene

By Florence Fabricant

Published: June 16, 2004

Was iced tea invented at the World's Fair in St. Louis in 1904, as legend holds? No, but it took off, thanks to the more than 20 million people who went to the fair, Pamela J. Vaccaro writes in ''Beyond the Ice Cream Cone'' (Enid Press, $23.95).

Ms. Vaccaro's research for this easy-to-read trivia-filled chronicle of the fair, officially called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the world's largest with 70,000 exhibits, also found that the ice cream cone, the hamburger, the hot dog, the club sandwich and peanut butter became popular there, though they originated elsewhere.

Cotton candy, then known as fairy floss, did make its debut at the fair. Among the food products on display was Cottolene, left, a lard substitute.